House of the Dragon: Emma D’Arcy as Rhaenyra Targaryen poses with her magnificent dragon in the latest poster

A beautiful image of a dragon appears on a brand-new HBO poster for the upcoming Game of Thrones prequel series, House of the Dragon. The magnificent dragon belongs to Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, who is played by Emma D’Arcy. The eagerly awaited ten-episode HBO Max series will begin airing on August 21, 2022.

The story of the Targaryens, the only family of dragonlords to survive the Doom of Valyria, is told in House of the Dragon, which is based on George R.R. Martin's Fire & Blood. The events of the acclaimed television series adaptation of Game of Thrones, which aired its final episode nearly two years ago, will occur 300 years earlier.

Paddy Considine, Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, and Emma D'Arcy as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen will serve as the series' main characters in the ten-episode run. Rhys Ifans, Steve Toussaint, Eve Best, Sonoya Mizuno, Milly Alcock, Emily Carey, Graham McTavish, Ryan Corr, Jefferson Hall, David Horovitch, Matthew Needham, Bill Patterson, Gavin Spokes, Wil Johnson, John Macmillan, Savannah Steyn, and Theo Nate also play pivotal roles in the series.

Ryan Condal, Miguel Sapochnik, and George R.R. Martin are the creators of House of the Dragon, and Condal and Sapochnik will also act as the showrunners. Martin, Sapochnik, Condal, Vince Gerardis, and Sara Lee Hess are the executive producers.

According to a recent Variety article, the 10-episode first season of House of the Dragon will cost "around $20 million" to produce. In contrast, the eighth and final season of Game of Thrones cost HBO approximately $100 million, with the production of each episode costing $15 million.

Simply put, HBO now understands what it takes to create these kinds of imaginative settings, which is why House of the Dragon didn't require much more than its predecessor. According to the report, HBO has found it much simpler to produce high-quality shows more quickly and cost-effectively because of their experience working on not only Game of Thrones but also Westworld and His Dark Materials.